Cervantes' Travels Through El Licenciado Vidriera

This immersive course takes you on a fascinating journey through literary history as you explore Cervantes' world through the travels of his iconic character, El Licenciado Vidriera. You'll be transported to Golden Age Spain, where the heated debate between "arms and letters" inflamed passions and shaped society. Throughout this five-week adventure, you'll trace the character's path through three fundamental stages of the novel, each representing a distinct mental state and name transformation: from student Tomás Rodaja (with its pejorative surname), through the enigmatic madness of Licenciado Vidriera (representing both fragility and sharpness), to the sanity of Tomás Rueda (representing life's fulfillment). The course recreates the personal geographies where the literary experiences of this beloved character unfolded: the cultivation of letters in Salamanca, the dolce far niente in Italy, the glassy madness upon return to Spain, and finally, the pursuit of glory through arms in Flanders. You'll explore how landscapes, cities, people, and professions have evolved over four centuries, discovering the anachronisms and continuities in the moral teachings of these timeless stories. Like Don Quixote, Vidriera experienced madness in life only to find sanity in death—a journey that illuminates the course's theme: "After darkness, I hope for light."